Nick Cave received a touching letter from a young 13-year-old fan, as he noted in a recent Red Hand Files blog post — where he responded with some sound advice that was requested.
“I’m 13. In a world ridden with so much hate, and disconnect; How do I live life to its absolute fullest, and not waste my potential? Especially as a creative. Also, what is a great way to spiritually enrich myself? in general, and in my creative work,” Ruben, the fan from Melbourne, Australia, asked.
“Dear Ruben. When I read this question, my initial thought was that the kid who wrote this has nothing to worry about, they’re going to be all right,” Cave opened his heartfelt response. “Ruben, you are very smart, you are engaged with the world and I’m not sure what your creative interests are, but you can certainly already write. Not only that, you are also reaching out for answers. At thirteen, this is all brilliant! Luckily for you, Ruben, I have some! So here goes!”
“Read. Read as much as possible,” Cave added. “Read the big stuff, the challenging stuff, the confronting stuff, and read the fun stuff too. Visit galleries and look at paintings, watch movies, listen to music, go to concerts — be a little vampire running around the place sucking up all the art and ideas you can. Fill yourself with the beautiful stuff of the world. Have fun. Get amazed. Get astonished. Get awed on a regular basis, so that getting awed is habitual and becomes a state of being.”
The Bad Seeds musician offers more sweet advice to the fan looking for a bit of hope, and those looking to read the full thing can find it in the link above. Cave also accepts questions that he just might answer someone else next.